Even before Jelani Cobb became Dean of the Columbia Journalism School, he was an educator. His reportage at The New Yorker (where he’s been writing about race and politics since 2012), steeped in history. And yet not even Cobb could’ve been prepared for what he’s described as a “harrowing” year in academia.

On the heels of graduation week at Columbia, Cobb joins us for a wide-ranging discussion about the climate on campuses across the country (5:14), the Trump administration’s sustained attacks on higher education (10:26), and the “potentially unlawful” detainment of student activist Mahmoud Khalil (15:06). Then, Cobb speaks to the challenges of public trust in journalism (28:30), “the beneficial workplace” he hopes to cultivate in newsrooms (40:00), and why young journalists continue to inspire him (46:00).

On the back-half, Jelani reflects on the five years since the murder of George Floyd (51:00), the fleeting corporate activism of 2020 (59:00), the importance of understanding Civil Rights history (1:06:00), and why he’s determined to continue telling stories in “dangerous times” (1:10:00).

Thoughts or future guest ideas? Email us at mail@talkeasypod.com.

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To commemorate the release of her new, deeply personal Netflix special ‘PostMortem,’ we revisit our conversation with Sarah Silverman.

At the top, we reflect on loss (7:16), her HBO special Sarah Silverman: Someone You Love (12:35), and coming of age in the ‘80s (18:42). Then, Silverman talks about her early comedic influences (25:35), her path from SNL to Los Angeles (32:30), and the mentorship of Garry Shandling (35:10).

On the back-half, we walk through the evolution of her provocative work, from The Sarah Silverman Program (38:42) to I Love You, America (46:52), the connective tissue of The Sarah Silverman Podcast (49:12), and the legacy of her beloved, late father (51:57).

Original air date: June 18, 2023.

Thoughts or future guest ideas? Email us at mail@talkeasypod.com.

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Earlier this month, writer Percival Everett was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction for James, his subversive and singular reimagining of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

At the top, we discuss the philosophical problem that led to James (5:50), what repeated readings of Twain’s classic unlocked in Percival (7:56), the influence of his father’s sense of humor (16:20), how he arrived at writing growing up in South Carolina (19:40), and his relationship to the publishing industry, as depicted in Erasure and later the Oscar-winning film American Fiction (21:59).

On the back-half, we talk about teaching in the digital age (32:26), why Everett still assigns Blazing Saddles to his students (34:22), the “bad neighborhood” of his own mind (46:08), and what he’s chasing—or trying to excavate—each time he sits down to write (47:04).

This conversation was recorded live in Los Angeles in partnership with the Aspen Society.

If you’d like to come to our next live show, it will be Saturday, June 14th at the Tribeca Audio Festival in NYC with actor Sam Rockwell. Tickets here!

Thoughts, future guest ideas, or your favorite one-liner from this talk with Percival? Comment below or email us at mail@talkeasypod.com.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.